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An Egyptian-proposed deal that would halt the week-old Gaza shelling war was welcomed by Israel on Tuesday but regarded suspiciously by the Palestinian territory's dominant Hamas Islamists, who said they had not been consulted by Cairo.
Hamas's armed wing vowed its attacks would "increase in ferocity and intensity" but Palestinian rocket salvoes waned ahead of the mooted 0600 GMT truce, with Israel saying there had been two cross-border launches overnight that caused no damage, Reuters reported.
Israel said it bombed 25 sites in Gaza, where Palestinian officials said a 63-year-old man and a 52-year-old woman were killed - bringing the enclave's death toll to more than 182, most of them civilians.
At Israeli military headquarters in Tel Aviv, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu convened his security cabinet for a vote on the ceasefire. Amos Gilad, a senior Israeli defence official and envoy to Cairo, cast the deal positively, saying Hamas had been weakened by the air and sea bombardment of impoverished Gaza. "Look at the balance, and you see that Hamas tried every possible means of striking at Israel while bringing great and terrible damage on its people, from their perspective," Gilad told Israel's Army Radio. "The Egyptian proposal includes a halt to all kind of [military] activity," he said. "What this proposal, if it is accepted, means is that, willy-nilly, Hamas did not manage to make good on its intentions."
Sami Abu Zuhri, a Hamas spokesman in Gaza, said the Islamist group had not received an official ceasefire proposal, and he repeated its position that demands it has made must be met before it lays down its weapons.
Hamas's armed wing, the al-Qassam Brigades, rejected the reported text of the truce deal, saying: "Our battle with the enemy continues and will increase in ferocity and intensity."
The worst Gaza flare-up in two years has killed no one in Israel, largely due to its Iron Dome anti-missile system. But the frequent rocket salvoes have disrupted life as air raid sirens sent people in much of the country racing to shelters.
In what may have been an effort to upstage Cairo's mediation, three rockets were launched from the Egyptian Sinai at the southern Israeli resort of Eilat, wounding four people, Israeli officials said. They said the salvo was likely fired by Islamist fighters hostile to Israel and the Egyptian government.
Under the proposal announced by Egypt's Foreign Ministry "de-escalation arrangements" would take effect at 0600 GMT, pending implementation of a full truce within 12 hours after.
High-level delegations from Israel and the Palestinian factions would hold separate talks in Cairo within 48 hours to consolidate the ceasefire with "confidence-building measures".
The Arab League said in a statement it welcomed the Egyptian initiative "to protect the lives of the innocent."
Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, who reached an agreement with Hamas in April that led to the formation of a unity government last month, welcomed the proposal and urged its acceptance, official Palestinian news agency WAFA said.
U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry will hold talk with Egyptian officials in Cairo on situation on Tuesday, Egypt's state news agency said. In Washington, U.S. President Barack Obama on Monday spoke positively of the emerging ceasefire.
Reiterating U.S. support for Israel in the face of Hamas's "inexcusable" attacks and concern for Palestinian civilian casualties, Obama said in a speech: "We are encouraged that Egypt has made a proposal to accomplish this (truce) goal which we hope can restore a calm that we've been seeking."
Hours before the proposal was announced, Gaza militants resumed rocket attacks on Tel Aviv after a 24-hour lull, while Israel kept up its strikes in the Gaza Strip and deployed infantry and armour along the frontier.
Israel had mobilised tens of thousands of troops for a threatened Gaza invasion if the rocket salvoes persisted.
Late on Monday, Israel bombed the house of Marwan Issa, a top commander of Hamas' armed wing, in Bureij refugee camp.
The surge in hostilities over the past week was prompted by the murder last month of three Jewish seminary students in the occupied West Bank and the revenge killing on July 2 of a Palestinian youth in Jerusalem. Israel said on Monday three Jews in police custody had confessed to killing the Palestinian.
Hamas leaders have said a ceasefire must include an end to Israel's blockade of Gaza and a recommitment to a truce reached in an eight-day war there in 2012. Hamas also wants Egypt to ease restrictions at its Rafah crossing with Gaza imposed after the military toppled Islamist president Mohamed Mursi last July.
But the Egyptian proposal made no mention of Rafah or when restrictions might be eased. It said only that "crossings shall be opened and the movement of persons and goods through (them) shall be facilitated once the security situation becomes stable on the ground".
Hamas has faced a cash crisis and Gaza's economic hardship has deepened as a result of Egypt's destruction of cross-border smuggling tunnels. Cairo accuses Hamas of aiding anti-government Islamist militants in Egypt's Sinai peninsula, an allegation the Palestinian group denies. Hamas has said it wants the release of hundreds of its activists arrested in the West Bank while Israel searched for the three missing teens. The detainees include more than 50 Hamas men freed from Israeli jails in a 2011 prisoner exchange.
The proposed truce made no mention of the detainees in stipulating that "other issues, including security issues, shall be discussed with the sides."


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Whenever I am in Berlin, I try to stop at the Rutz Weinbar in the Chaussee Strasse 8 in Berlin-Mitte and enjoy their outstanding wines.
Rutz Weinbar is not only a top wine bar—it is also a top restaurant and a top wine store, but I go their for the wine bar.
Rutz Weinbar has an extensive wine list, about 1000 or so wines, largely from Germany and other European countries. For example, Rutz offers 13 different wines from Weingut Kuenstler/Rheingau/Hochheim. The nice thing is that you can consume all wines for the wine-store- price plus a corkage fee of Euro 18. Winebar Rutz also has some excellent New World wines including about a dozen different vintages of Opus One. The oldest one—1985—goes for Euro 392 in the wine store, and Euro 410 at the wine bar.
You can also eat at the bar from the exciting bar menu; I love the "Rinderroulade"—a German specialty. The kitchen and the main part of the restaurant, including an outside deck, are on the second floor. The restaurant is one of the best in Berlin, with 1 Michelin star and 16 Gault Millau points. Chef Marcus Mueller offers a number of 5/6 courses menus for between Euro 55 and 105; you can also eat a la carte for Euro 20 to 30 per course.
Rutz Weinbar organizes special events on a regular basis. Next Friday, September 4, 2009, sommelier Billy Wagner has invited 6 prominent colleagues from all over Germany to participate in the "Hausbesetzung im Rutz". This will certainly be a culinary feast and a lot of fun. Chef Marcus Mueller will prepare a 5 courses menu for Euro 139. Each course will be accompanied by a different—German-- wine, presented by one of the invited sommeliers. The Rheingau will be represented by a wine from Weingut Peter Jakob Kuehn/Oestrich. The dinner will be followed by a bottle party starting at half an hour to midnight.
Unfortunately, I will not be able to make it as I will be in Berlin only a couple of weeks later. Then, of course, I will have my Rinderroulade at the bar, with the fantastic wines of the Weinbar Rutz.

subset: commoncrawl


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Whatever size car fleet you run, whole-of-life costs really matter. And as you know, the total cost of fleet ownership includes a great deal more than the initial financing of your cars. For whole-of-life costs you also have to factor in servicing and repairs, fuel, resale value, and more.
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Minimising car running costs is essential if you want to keep your fleet's whole-of-life costs down. With Toyota's legendary reliability, it's easier to keep your cars running smoothly and manage your fleet's bottom line.
Toyota cars are well known for their reliability. That's because we build and test each of our cars to exceed the toughest conditions you're ever likely to face.
We strive to design cars that can be easily maintained and serviced quickly. This keeps fleet maintenance costs down, and ensures time off the road is kept to a minimum.
With Toyota Service Advantage you pay the same low capped price from one logbook service to the next, for a minimum of three years or 60,000km[T1], whichever comes first.
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The simple fact is, if a fleet car fails to retain value it costs your company more in the long run. Toyota's cars have broad market appeal and a reputation for durability and reliability, which is why they tend to retain excellent resale value.
Toyota's cars have some of the best resale values in the Australian motoring industry. This means that, so long as your Toyotas have been maintained properly, when you upgrade your fleet or adjust it as your business needs change, you can be confident you'll receive an excellent resale price.
Everyone knows someone with a story about Toyota's enduring quality. This is thanks to the excellent design and build-quality of our cars. And it means there's every chance that with Toyotas in your fleet, your whole-of-life cost of ownership will stay surprisingly low.
[T1] Maximum payable for standard scheduled logbook servicing (normal operating conditions) until first of three years or 60,000kms, whichever occurs first (up to the first six services). Excludes Government & Rental vehicles. Contact your Toyota Dealer or go to toyota.com.au/advantage for other exclusions, eligibility and full details. [G1] Fuel consumption and emissions will vary depending on driving conditions/style, vehicle conditions and options/accessories. Source of fuel consumption data: ADR 81/02 combined cycle.


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According to our usual source out west, it just might be:
As of midnight last Friday, February 5th, it was announced that 27 more "outside Xinjiang" websites have been opened in addition to the four sites that were already accessible. After spending this past weekend searching over all these sites I can tell you that progress has been made, although each of them loads quite slowly. What's more…one of them doesn't load at all (the China Rail site received a "Connection Interrupted")….
A Look at What's New
The sites can be divided into about 9 different categories and although a few of them offer alternative languages like English, none of them represents a foreign-based business. I've categorized them as follows:
* 7 News Sites (including China Daily and CCTV)
* 4 Travel Sites (including Ctrip and Air China)
* 3 Business & Finance Sites
* 3 Telecom Sites (all three major Chinese carriers)
* 2 Shopping Sites (including Taobao, China's version of eBay)
* 2 Computer Service Sites (so you can update your anti-virus)
* 2 Gaming Sites (more flash games…yippee)
* 2 Education Sites (study materials for students and help for teachers)
* 1 Fashion SiteUnlike Sina and Sohu (which underwent heavy censorship), each of these sites when viewed in Xinjiang seems to match those viewed outside. However, as is the rule in Xinjiang for now, all email and forum capabilities are disabled.
(Emphasis added.) What's odder than the government announcing the formal unblocking of sites are the sites that still aren't available, such as the central government's.
The tone of the post is decidedly pessimistic. Xinjiang's Internet is still tightly controlled, and there is no expectation of an open Internet (i.e., an Internet that's as open as in the other side of the country) any time soon, if ever.
Right now the difference between internet in Xinjiang and the rest of China is determined by the way we describe the censorship. Throughout most of China people explain the Great Firewall by the number of sites which have been blocked; in Xinjiang we count how many sites have been unblocked. That's a huge difference.
My sympathies.
I may head back to China for a quick visit, and that's always the one thing I dread most – getting used to the censorship. I know, I know, Witopia. I'm definitely installing it before I leave.


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Common cancers have a high level of awareness among Americans. Prevalent cancers like breast, colon or prostate affect a large number of people, and it's important to be aware of preventive and diagnostic measures. But cancer can also strike in an area of the body many people don't think about – the feet.
"The most serious, increasingly common type of skin cancer, melanoma, can first emerge on the feet," says Dr. Matthew Garoufalis, a podiatrist and president of the American Podiatric Medical Association. "One reason for this may be that many people who are vigilant about using sunscreen on their faces and arms still forget to apply protection to their feet."
Exposure to UV rays is a leading cause of skin cancer.
More than 2 million cases of skin cancer will be diagnosed this year in the U.S., and it is the most common type of cancer in the world, says the American Academy of Dermatology. While sun exposure is a main contributor to skin cancers on other parts of the body, and can be a factor when melanoma occurs on the feet, many cancers that affect the feet can be more often linked to anything that causes increased cell turnover, including viruses, chemical exposure, chronic inflammation and chronic ulceration. Heredity may also play a role, the APMA reports.
Click here to read more about precautions against cancer risks.
With the arrival of summer and more time outdoors and on-the-go, it's a good idea to think about protecting and monitoring all aspects of foot health, including cancer risks. The APMA offers some important information about cancers of the feet:
The skin of the feet often gets overlooked during routine physicals. Be sure to ask your doctor to include a close inspection of your feet in your annual physical, and do your own routine checks regularly.
Take steps to protect your feet from sources of skin cancer. Always apply sunscreen to your feet when you wear sandals or flip-flops – including between the toes and on the soles. To reduce exposures to harmful viruses, avoid going barefoot in public areas such as pool decks, hotel rooms or corridors, and on beaches and boardwalks. Never go barefoot when using household chemicals such as weed killers or strong cleansers. If your feet become painful or the skin inflamed, don't try to wait out the irritation; see a podiatrist right away.
"Skin cancers on the feet and lower legs can look very different than skin cancers on other areas of the body," Garoufalis says. "Podiatrists are uniquely trained as lower-extremity specialists, and are best equipped to help patients detect early and treat effectively both benign and malignant skin tumors on the feet and lower legs."
Visit www.APMA.org to find a podiatrist in your area, and to learn more about foot health.


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The inmates at Haiti's only women's prison cry out in desperation as warden Marie-Yolaine Mathieu makes her rounds, hoping that she will hear their case and perhaps, help secure their release. "Director, director, I need to speak to you," calls out one woman with matted hair and a blemished face, whose days of incarceration without a conviction turned first into weeks and now months.
Like so many others, the woman make a futile plea for Mathieu's intervention.
"I've been in this prison for six months. I have a 10-year old child who has not been cared for since my mother died during the earthquake," she cried.
"I can't take it any more," she screams, beside herself with despair.
This impoverished Caribbean country's broken judicial system has failed its citizens at every turn. But it has been especially delinquent in prosecuting those who face criminal charges but have never been convicted of crimes.
Haiti's main in prison in Port-au-Prince was virtually destroyed by the 7.0-magnitude quake on January 12, and almost all of its estimated 4,000 male prisoners escaped.
The prison director said however said she feels for the women, but that she is powerless to improve their plight.
The problem is not unique to this facility.
The United Nations Mission in Haiti has frequently voiced concern over the years about overcrowding in the country's prisons, where the majority of inmates have not been convicted and are being held in preventive detention.
Even before January's massive quake that killed as many as 300,000 people and reduced much of the capital region to rubble, only about one prison detainee in 10 had actually been convicted of a crime.
Like other Haitian prisons, the women's facility in Petionville on the outskirts of the capital makes a practice of keeping inmates in preventive detention, sometimes for years.
Even the country's chief prosecutor, Auguste Aristidas, decried the conditions as a "gross injustice that is being carried out against Haitian women."
The situation has become only more chaotic since the quake.
"There is a lot of disorder in the system. Some files cannot be found, which prevents us from prosecuting their cases," Aristidas said.
The human rights section of the UN mission for years has urged the creation of special commissions to study individual cases as a way to ease overcrowding at the country's prisons.
None of the proposed reforms ever got off the ground however, and the desperate women here continue to languish while waiting for justice.
One woman, about 60 years old, diabetic and suffering from high blood pressure, has been waiting for three years to be charged.
A 39-year old inmate, who was eight months pregnant when she was imprisoned, lost her baby because of the deplorable prison conditions. Three others were forced to give birth in a tiny ill-equipped prison infirmary.
Even the youngest inmates are incarcerated for years at a time, often for minor infractions.
A case in point is Sherline, who was locked up when she was 16, and today is 21. "In 2005, I had problems with my brother, who felt that I was coming home too late at night," she recounted.
"He drove me to a police station, to teach me a lesson. I've been locked up here ever since," she said.
Another inmate, Myrline, 19, was arrested for stealing five years ago but has never been seen by a judge.
"The minors sometimes wind up here for minor crimes punishable by three to six months in prison, but they sometimes languish five or six years behind bars," Mathieu said.
"It breaks my heart to see these children spending the best years of their lives in prison.


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Chelsea captain John Terry has been ruled out of the FIFA Club World Cup because of his knee injury.
Terry has been advised against travelling to Japan for the tournament as he continues his recovery from the ligament damage sustained against Liverpool last month.
"We've been talking with the doctor. The inflammation during the flight will not be the best thing for him so he will not travel," interim manager Rafael Benitez said.
"He wanted to go and to help, but it's better that he stays here. We don't know when he will play. We have to wait and see how he reacts."
Frank Lampard is expected to play some part in Saturday's Barclays Premier League clash with Sunderland and will fly to Japan after recovering from his calf problem.
Daniel Sturridge's hamstring injury will prevent him from participating at the Stadium of Light, but the Club World Cup is a realistic target.
"Sturridge has been training but it's too early for him so he will not go to Sunderland. We will fly to Japan from Sunderland and we'll see if he can do something in Japan," Benitez said. "Frank Lampard has been training and will be in the squad for Sunderland and if everything is fine he will fly to Japan too.
"At least one important player is back because we need character, experience and numbers. Frank is a very experienced player so this is quite positive.
"At the moment we have a good team but we needed players with more experience. He can have an impact. He scores goals and understands the game.
"I'm disappointed for the other two, but at least with Frank we have one more body."


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This Just In: Upgrades and Downgrades
At The Motley Fool, we poke plenty of fun at Wall Street analysts and their endless cycle of upgrades, downgrades, and "initiating coverage at neutral." Today, we'll show you whether those bigwigs actually know what they're talking about. To help, we've enlisted Motley Fool CAPS to track the long-term performance of Wall Street's best and worst.
All fertilizer, all the time
Friday is looking to be a miserable day to own a fertilizer stock -- any fertilizer stock -- as ace agriculture stock analyst Dahlman Rose issues its latest round of prognostications on the sector. Across the length and breadth of the industry, Dahlman rained down pessimistic ratings this morning:
Agrium -- Sell
CF Industries -- Sell
Potash -- Sell
And, of course, Rentech Nitrogen -- Sell!
Fact is, the only fertilizer stock that escaped the analyst's ire even just a little bit was Mosaic , which somehow got off with only a downgrade to hold.
Why all the pessimism? StreetInsider.com, which reported the ratings this morning, quoted Dahlman to explain its moves thusly: "We believe that the best market conditions for [Nitrogen, Phosphorus, and Potassium fertilizers] are behind them as new capacity moves forcefully ahead." With India having just placed a couple big potash orders at prices ($427 a ton) a bit higher than expected ($416 a ton), prospects look "good" for the first half of this year, but "the industry maybe just one crop away from a significant earnings downdraft driven by crop and capacity issues."
After all, even $427 is a steep discount from the $530 a ton that Canpotex (which represents Potash, Agrium, and Mosaic on potash deals) was able to negotiate with India a couple years ago. Plus, with corn prices on the decline, and record acreage being planted this year in the U.S., it's possible farmers will have less cash to spend on fertilizer this year, than investors might like.
Should we be worried?
How worried should you be about all of the above? In a word: very. First, the analyst making these predictions for potash, nitrogen, and potassium fertilizers is no babe in the woods, or even in the cornfields. While overall, Dahlman Rose is a pretty useless investment banker, sporting a long-term average record for accuracy of less than 40%, and ranking in the bottom 20% of investors we track on CAPS, there is one area in which Dahlman positively shines: fertilizer stocks.
Within this small niche of the market, classified as "chemicals" on CAPS, Dahlman boasts a sterling record of 75% accuracy on its picks and a combined record of 232 percentage points worth of outperformance of the S&P 500 over the past four years.
Quite simply, Dahlman's performance in this field has earned it some respect, and the right to be listened to when it warns investors not to buy shares of Potash and Agrium, Rentech, and CF -- and to be careful about Mosaic as well.
Valuation matters
Dahlman's opinion is also (largely) supported by the numbers. Across the industry, most fertilizer stocks sell for valuations ranging from 16.5 (Potash) to 12.1 (Agrium). Mosaic, the only stock Dahlman is even remotely optimistic about, sits in the middle of the pack at 13.2.
By themselves, these valuations don't look too awfully bad. But remember that projected growth rates for the fertilizer producers are anything but robust. Agrium and Mosaic "boast" projected growth rates of just 7% and 8%, respectively. Potash, only 5%. (Rentech breaks the curve with a 12% profit growth rate, but seeing as it currently has no free cash flow, it's hard to say what that "growth" is really worth.)
Remember, too, that most of these stocks fall far short of the goal of generating free cash flow in line with their reported GAAP income. Rentech is worst in this regard -- actually burning cash even as it claims to be earning $110 million a year on its income statement -- but Potash, Mosaic, and Agrium all generate a whole lot less profit than they let on.
Foolish takeaway
Honestly, I agree with most of what Dahlman is saying about these stocks today. For the most part, they're not as good as they look. If I've got one quibble, though, it's that the analyst is too easy on Mosaic (whose numbers are just as bad as most of the rest) and too hard on the only stock on the list that presents a bargain: CF Industries.
Priced at a P/E ratio of just 7.2, CF is easily the cheapest stock on the list. Meanwhile, with a projected long-term growth rate of 12%, it's tied with Rentech as the group's speediest grower. Best of all, with $1.85 billion in trailing free cash flow, CF Industries is the only fertilizer company out there -- literally, the only one -- currently making more cash profit than it's claiming to have earned under GAAP.
To my Foolish eye, it's the only one of the five you should even consider buying.
With less and less arable land available around the world, increasing yields from existing plots will become increasingly important to keep up with expected population growth. Cheap and effective fertilizers could be the key to achieving this goal. As the global leader in potash production, PotashCorp has several barriers to entry established that make it nearly impossible for competition to break through. Click here now to access The Motley Fool's new premium research report on PotashCorp, in which we cover precisely what these barriers to entry are and detail several other key reasons why this company presents such a compelling investment opportunity today.
The article This Just In: Upgrades and Downgrades originally appeared on Fool.com.
Fool contributor Rich Smith has no positions in the stocks mentioned above. You can find him on CAPS, publicly pontificating under the handle TMFDitty, where he's currently ranked No. 319 out of more than 180,000 members. The Motley Fool owns shares of CF Industries Holdings. Try any of our Foolish newsletter services free for 30 days. We Fools may not all hold the same opinions, but we all believe that considering a diverse range of insights makes us better investors. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.
Copyright © 1995 - 2013 The Motley Fool, LLC. All rights reserved. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.


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10 Ways Insight Vacations is a Trendsetter in Culinary Travel
Posted on 02/23/2018Insight's immersive dining experiences lets you discover countries and cultures through their taste buds: farmers and fishermen show you how food is harvested then serve it up in Farm-to-Table meals; chefs demonstrate how a few simple ingredients can be turned into delicious masterpieces during hands-on cooking classes; and locals invite guests into their homes for home-cooked meals during Dine-at-Home evenings. New in 2018, you will also be able to share meals with local hosts and other travelers thanks to Insight's new partnership with VizEat, the global meal-sharing platform.
Here are 10 of Insight's many exceptional foodie offerings:
1. Oyster Tasting in Croatia: During the 'Country Roads of Croatia' journey, you'll accompany Tomislav to his floating barges and watch him harvest oysters straight from the sea. Sample the freshly shucked mollusks with a squeeze of lemon and a glass of crisp local wine.
2. Innovative and Locally Sourced Dishes at Ireland's Iconic Ashford Castle: On the 'Irish Elegance' itinerary, dine at the magnificent 800-year-old Ashford Castle where creative cooking and local ingredients reign supreme.
3. "Dine-at-Home" Dinner in Sarajevo: On the 'Eastern Capitals and the Dalmatian Riviera' journey, you're invited into a Sarajevan family's home for a Dine-at-Home dinner. Savor authentic Bosnian cuisine and hear inspirational stories about the beautiful city's resilient people, rich culture, and wonderful traditions.
4. Pasta Making with Chef Lorenzo in Orvieto, Italy: At a restaurant in the medieval heart of Orvieto on the 'European Dream' journey, learn how to make fresh pasta by hand during a live cooking demonstration by Chef Lorenzo Polegri.
5. Introduction to Greek Cooking in Olympia: While on the 'Treasures of Greece and the Islands' itinerary, join a local chef for an entertaining cooking demonstration, then savor regional Greek specialties in a fun-filled, flavorful dinner .
6. The Art of Strudel-Making in Budapest: On the 'Easy Pace Budapest, Vienna and Prague' journey, visit a traditional strudel house and see pastry chefs at work stretching the dough and readying the fillings, then enjoy a delectable taste of this famous delicacy paired with rich, aromatic coffee.
7. Traditional Basque Pintxos in San Sebastián, Spain: On the 'Mediterranean Journey' wander through San Sebastián's Old Town, the hub of the town's social life, then enjoy some of the best pintxos in the region.
8. Cornish Coast Experience in Britain: Visit a Cornish fishing village during the 'Best of Britain' journey and enjoy a Farm-to-Table Celebration Dinner at the edge of Dartmoor National Park that includes fresh, locally sourced seafood.
9. Paella Demonstration in Valencia, Spain: While on the 'Highlights of Spain' journey, meet the chef at a local family-run restaurant in the heart of the Old City and learn the traditional recipe for paella during a cooking demonstration then savor the delicious flavors of this classic dish with a glass of sangria
10. Dine-At-Home in Portugal: On the 'Country Roads of Portugal' trip you'll learn about the family's passion for wine making, and join them for a farm-to-table dinner of food freshly prepared from locally sourced ingredients and served with wine from the estate.


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There are three main ways for Rhodes students to be involved with Model United Nations (or Model UN).
The I.S. Department offers a one-credit, evening course (open to any major) where students simulate the proceedings of the U.N. General Assembly. In this simulation, students engage in rigorous debates on relevant topics of international importance, and seek to find common diplomatic ground.
Rhodes students typically attend 1-2 national Model UN Conferences during an academic year. Typically, a small team of 6-12 Rhodes students will represent a country assigned to them by the conference organizers and debate with students from other colleges and universities.
For the past three decades, Rhodes has hosted the Mid-South Model United Nations Conference. Some 200 or more high school students from throughout the Mid-South region travel to Rhodes to participate in the region's most competitive conference. Rhodes student participation at the MS-MUN Conference is responsible for creating all aspects of the conference, from providing creative the leadership, to organizing conference proceedings, to interacting with and mentoring the high school participants.


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Partners for the Forest
Saving breeding habitats in the vast western boreal forest
Saving breeding habitats in the vast western boreal forest
by Eric Butterworth, Ph.D.
Annual breeding waterfowl surveys, jointly conducted in May by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) and the Canadian Wildlife Service (CWS), have documented that the western boreal forest, extending from Alaska to western Ontario, is the second most important waterfowl breeding area in North America. On average, 40 percent of all waterfowl surveyed on the continent occur in this vast region north of the prairies, giving it the well-deserved nickname "the other duck factory."
Until recently, the western boreal forest remained largely untouched by development. In recent years, however, a dramatic increase in logging, oil and gas production, mining, hydroelectric development, and agricultural production has occurred in the region, threatening its wetlands and waterfowl populations. Several waterfowl species that breed in the region already are in trouble. Continentally, scaup have declined by about 40 percent from long-term average populations, and combined estimates of white-winged, surf, and black scoters have declined by 58 percent since the late 1970s. Declines have been greatest in the Northwest Territories, where scoters have fallen by a staggering 70 percent. Waterfowl researchers are now wondering if these species are serving as "canaries in the coal mine" for the ecological health of the boreal forest as a whole, just as declining pintail numbers have raised alarm about waterfowl habitat conditions on the prairies.
In 1997, Ducks Unlimited and Ducks Unlimited Canada founded the Western Boreal Forest Initiative, dedicated to protecting wetland and waterfowl habitats in the region. Since that time, many other partners, including the U.S. Forest Service, numerous resource development companies (forestry, oil, and gas), and The Pew Charitable Trusts, have joined this effort. In the northern portion of the region (above the 60th parallel), DU and its partners are working to permanently protect wetland and waterfowl habitats with the support of aboriginal communities that wish to maintain traditional ways of life, including hunting, fishing, and trapping.
Farther south, below the 60th parallel, in the so-called boreal plain, DU and its partners are working closely with natural resource managers in both the public and private sectors to ensure that development activities are conducted in accordance with best management practices that have minimal impacts on wetlands and waterfowl populations. In 2002, DU signed a five-year, $1 million agreement with Alberta-Pacific Forest Industries to develop a watershed-based conservation plan for their 14.3 million-acre forest management area. This exciting project is the first step in the development of a far-reaching conservation blueprint for industrial forests on the boreal plain.
Partnerships are extremely important to the Western Boreal Forest Initiative. The success of this very important endeavor would not be possible without the support of numerous aboriginal communities, provincial and federal government agencies (especially the U.S. Forest Service), corporations, and foundations. The Pew Charitable Trusts, for example, has recently committed $12 million to DU in support of the boreal forest initiative, the largest grant ever received by the organization. DU's corporate partners include Alberta-Pacific Forest Industries, BC Hydro, SaskPower, Suncor Energy, Syncrude, Temebc Industries, TrueNorth Energy, and Weyerhaeuser Canada.


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SRD:Staff of Spheres
From D&D Wiki
This material is published under the OGL 1.0a. |
This staff allows use of the following spells.
- Freezing sphere (1 charge, DC 19)
- Resilient sphere (1 charge, DC 16)
- Telekinetic sphere (1 charge, DC 22)
Caster Level: 21st; Prerequisites: Craft Staff, Craft Epic Staff, freezing sphere, resilient sphere, telekinetic sphere; Market Price: 228,375 gp.
Back to Main Page → 3.5e Open Game Content → System Reference Document → Magic Items


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Consultants at BTY Group say construction activity could pick up next year across the country amid anticipated spending on infrastructure and renewable energy.
The international consulting firm says it predicts construction costs will rise three per cent to five per cent in 2021 for Ontario, British Columbia, and Quebec, with lower spending levels in Alberta and Manitoba amid new restrictions from the COVID-19 pandemic.
Meanwhile, BTY estimates that construction costs in Saskatchewan and Atlantic Canada could be flat or rise up to two per cent, as low interest rates offset rising oil and lumber prices.
The consultancy says there is uncertainty around home construction, given this year's drop in immigration and foreign investment during the pandemic.
But BTY's report also says government stimulus spending could help the construction industry find its footing next year.
BTY pointed to the federal government's growth plan, which calls for a $10 billion investment in renewable energy, broadband infrastructure, building retrofits, agriculture irrigation and electric vehicle charging stations.
READ MORE: Wood products pricing surge expected to persist, raising 2021 house, renovation costs
The Canadian Press
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Chen, Xianming | |
Evans, Conrad | |
Garner, John | |
LIU, YUMEI - Washington State University |
Submitted to: Plant Disease Management Reports
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal Publication Acceptance Date: 2/22/2013 Publication Date: 3/11/2013 Citation: Chen, X., Evans, C.K., Garner, J.P., Liu, Y. 2013. Control of stripe rust of winter wheat with foliar fungicides. Plant Disease Management Reports. 7:CF032. Interpretive Summary: A total of 17 foliar fungicide treatments were tested for their efficacy in control of stripe rust on winter wheat during the 2011-2012 crop season. The experimental field near Pullman, WA was planted with a susceptible winter wheat cultivar, PS 279, on October 25, 2011. A randomized complete block design experiment with four replications was used including a non-treated check treatment. Fungicides were applied on three different dates and crop growth stages depending upon the treatments. Disease severity was assessed from each plot five times during the disease season under the natural infection of stripe rust. Area under the disease progress curve (AUDPC) was calculated for each plot using the four sets of severity data. Relative AUDPC was calculated as percentage of the non-treated control. Grain yield and test weight were measured. Rust severity, relative AUDPC, test weight, and yield data were subjected to analysis of variance and means were compared to determine the difference among the treatments. Stripe rust reached 100% severity at milk stage and caused more than 53% yield loss in the non-treated control plots. All fungicide treatments significantly reduced rust severity, increased test weight, and increased grain yield compared to the non-treated control. Some of the treatments provided better control than others. Yield increases of the fungicide applications ranged from 47% to 111%. Some of the new formulations may be registered for control of stripe rust. Technical Abstract: The study was conducted in a field with Palouse silt loam under natural infection of stripe rust near Pullman, WA. Fertilizer (Osmocota 14-14-14) was applied at 60 lb/A at the time of cultivation on 25 Oct 11. Susceptible 'PS 279' winter wheat was seeded in rows spaced 14 in. apart at 60 lb/A (99% germination rate) with a drill planter on 26 Oct 11. Huskie, 15 fl oz/A, plus Axial, 80 ml/A, and M-90, 140 ml/A, were applied on 30 May when wheat plants were at early jointing stage. Before the first fungicide application the field was divided into individual plots of 4.4 ft (4 rows) in width and 14.8-17.0 ft in length by eliminating plants between plots with a rototiller. Fungicides were applied in 16 gal water/A on different dates and stages depending upon the treatment. The first fungicide application timing at jointing stage was done on 3 Jun when stripe rust was 1-5% severity in the field. The second application was done at boot stage on 15 Jun when stripe rust in the non-treated plots reached 20-30% severity. The third was done at heading stage on 25 Jun when stripe rust in the non-treated plots reached 90% severity. A 601C backpack sprayer was used with a CO2-pressurized spray boom at 18 psi having three operating ¼ in. nozzles spaced 19 in. apart. A randomized block design was used with four replications. Disease severity (percentage of diseased foliage per whole plot) was assessed from each plot on 3 Jun, 18 Jun, 25 Jun, 6 Jul (data not shown), and 13 Jul or on the day of fungicide application and 15, 22, 33, and 40 days after the first fungicide application timing, respectively. Plots were harvested on 16 Aug when kernels had 3-5% kernel moisture and test weight of kernels was measured. Area under disease progress curve (AUDPC) was calculated for each plot using the five sets of severity data. Relative AUDPC was calculated as percent of the non-treated control. Rust severity, relative AUDPC, test weight, and yield data were subjected to analysis of variance and means were separated by Fisher's protected LSD test. |


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Our next meeting of the
Midwest Narcolepsy Support Group
is scheduled for
Saturday, December 2, 2017
10:30 am - 12:00 noon
NorthShore University HealthSystem
Evanston Hospital
2650 Ridge, Evanston, IL 60201
Meeting Rooms G952-G956, - Evanston Hospital
Feel free to join us on the phone if you can't join us in person.
The conference phone is:
~ Passcode ~ 7432626#
Please note that we have a NEW PASSCODE
We hope to see (or hear from) you on Saturday!!
After our regular meeting, we will have our
4th Annual Holiday Party!!
(Sorry, we will be closing out the phone line at noon, as usual)
(Sorry, we will be closing out the phone line at noon, as usual)
This will include Pizza
(a donation of $5 per person would be appreciated, but is not REQUIRED for participation in the Pizza portion of the party),
any additional food you want to bring to share (including holiday cookies!!)
as well as a
Fun Gift Exchange
To qualify as a "Fun Gift" the gift has to come from someplace like
the Dollar Store or Dollar General or the Family Dollar Store
or from the $1 bins at Target or something similar. Gifts should range in price from $1.00 to $5.00
(In past years gifts included a travel lint roller, a "pirate hook", erasures, stickers, coloring books, etc.)
You can bring one gift or more, make sure they are wrapped, and we will
enjoy the traditional exchange of gifts and food.
Remember, you don't need to spend a lot of money for this to be lots of fun.


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This is a true and very sad rubbish clearance story. While this particular incident is certainly a case of "a picture is worth a thousand words" (or more!), we hope that our words give ammunition to those who are working toward positive change to keep our waste removal out of our oceans.
A Gruesome Ghastly Sight
Usually, the sight of a majestic sperm whale is such a magical moment, most people try to freeze frame the image in their mind. In fact, many people stop breathing momentarily they are so excited to see such a magnificent creature! However, this was not the reaction people had on February 27 when a thirty-three foot, totally emaciated, sperm whale washed up dead on Cabo de Palos Beach in southwestern Spain. It was not at all a wondrous sight… it was a gruesome ghastly sight… one of those images that people would prefer to block from their mind but can't no matter how hard they try!
The sight of this gigantic creature, lying there dead, the life sucked out of it from eating our rubbish clearance, is heartbreaking to everyone who has viewed the scene either in person or via picture. It sent shock waves across the environmental community. Many shared images of the ghostly dead sperm whale on social media. All who saw it seemed utterly horrified, many vowing to do something about it. The mantra seemed to be "Shame on us for allowing this to happen!"
The deceased sperm whale, a juvenile male, weighed in at 6.5 metric tonnes (14,330 pounds, 5900 kilograms). While this may seem massive to a human weighting a mere 175 pounds, it is about seven times less than what male sperm whales usually weigh. He weighed so much less than a juvenile male sperm whale is supposed to weigh, the idiomatic expression, "he was skin and bones," would not even begin to cover his physical state. It was quite obvious from the pictures that he literally starved to death.
Cause of such a grueling death
Experts at the El Valle Wildlife Recovery Centre determined that his stomach and intestines were filled with twenty-nine kilograms (sixty-four pounds) of garbage! These included discarded cans, netting, ropes, and plastic bags. With all this rubbish compacting his digestive system, he could not digest real food and he starved to death. In addition, he had a severe stomach infection, most likely because one of the rubbish clearance items he swallowed ripped a tear in his stomach lining.
The pain and torture this young sperm whale must have endured before he finally died and washed ashore to shame humanity must have been extensive. How unjust it is to this creature to not only die but actually die in a way that was very likely slow and tremendously painful.
What do we as humans owe his species for the sin of his death? Should his death be the impetus to do more to rid our oceans of rubbish removal? Should we plaster this image of this whales lifeless emaciated body on anti-litter posters even though it makes us feel awkward and ashamed to see it?
Sperm Whale – A Magnificent Creature
Sperm whales have been forever immortalized in the great novel, Moby Dick, so they will live for eternity on in the human psyche even if they go extinct. However, unlike the dinosaurs that roamed our planet before our time, and went extinct long before we made our great migration out of Africa into the fertile crescent, sperm whales have shared our planet for all of human history.
Many members of our species have come eye to eye with this beast and we must answer for our crimes of littering that has been proven to be the direct cause of this whales death, and in fact, threatens his entire species.
The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) classifies the conservation status of sperm whales as "vulnerable" which is only one small step away from becoming endangered — and some experts actually argue that sperm whales are already endangered. While it is impossible to do an accurate census of sperm whales, scientists estimate there about 200,000 of these whales left. Keep in mind, there used to be many millions of them in our oceans but they were a favorite of whaling expeditions who hunted them for their valuable blubber, meat, and even their bones.
Sperm whales are now protected under international law so most countries no longer hunt them. However, the Japanese still have a taste for sperm whale and several are harvested for supposed "scientific research" every year. The whale meat from these scientific specimens does get sold in Japanese markets. However, even given this loophole in the law that protects sperm whales, the direct human harvesting of sperm whales pales in comparison to how threatening our rubbish clearance is to the endurance of this species.
Time for Introspection
The sperm whale that washed up dead on Cabo de Palos Beach is only one of many who have died due to eating rubbish clearance. Plastic bags are the biggest culprit but all rubbish in our oceans poses a dire threat to sperm whales and other marine mammals. What we do about our rubbish clearance problem over the next few decades will likely determine the fate of this entire species and many other marine mammals.
It is important to note how intelligent sperm whales are though to be. Sperm whales have the biggest brains in the animal kingdom, weighing in at five times that of the human brain, with an imposing volume of eight thousand cubic centimeters! They're also known to express obvious emotions. What would they say to use if we could somehow crack the sperm whale language code? Would they beg us to remove our rubbish from their habitat? Would they appeal to our better angels?
Identifying the Enemies
Sperm whales eat mostly "garden variety" squid, less than a foot in length, but in an ironic twist, their worst enemy is thought to be the giant squid. These colossal squid are usually between ten to thirteen metres (33 to 43 feet). Serrated sucker scars from these ginormous squid are often found on sperm whale bodies. While sperm whales may eat these giant squid, they put up a good fight at minimum and may even be able to kill, or at least harm significantly, a sperm whale at times.
However, the rubbish clearance that we as humans fill our oceans with cause more damage to sperm whales than all the giant squid in the world. We must face the hard reality that our rubbish clearance is directly responsible for the death of sperm whales, and many other marine mammals, and many other animal species for that matter. We must own up to that fact and start seriously working toward finding solutions.
If you have pictures of sperm whales, please send them to Clearabee's Facebook page in honor of the most recent sperm whale death at the hands of our rubbish clearance. Clearabee is the leading on demand rubbish clearance company in the UK.


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Digital Solutions: The EU's FENIX project – a platform for more efficient and climate-friendly logistics chains
FENIX = Federated European Network of Information eXchange in LogistiX
Development of a European federated architecture for data sharing serving the European logistics community
- More transparency through real-time information
- Standardized interfaces for ETA, etc.
- Innovative software modules (SDK) from the cloud
- Intermodal transport solutions within EU guidelines
Development, testing and validating practice-relevant services, e.g.:
- Container arrival times (ETA)
- Digitization of customs systems
- CO2 monitoring
Project goals:
- Overcome the fragmented goods transportation causing economic bottlenecks in the EU member states
- Harmonize and optimize cross-border logistics along selected European transport corridors
- Establish ICT standards for seamless communication of cargo flow addressing all modes of transport
Partners with profound market knowledge develop an architecture for a collaborative IT environment bringing together logistics information systems on an operational level
"IT remarketing" project
Our "IT remarketing" project involves reconditioning our used IT hardware to make it suitable for further use. We continue to maintain our partnership with "AfB gemeinnützige GmbH", which offers job opportunities to people with disabilities. Within the scope of this partnership, we are giving some of our used IT hardware (e.g. laptops) to the organization for reconditioning and reselling. This will support us to save resources and to create jobs for people with disabilities as well as extend the life cycle of our used hardware.
Together against conflict resources
Telekom has been supporting the Responsible Minerals Initiative (RMI) since 2008. The RMI is the largest initiative in the economy for responsible raw material procurement. Its aim is to identify conflict raw materials and to prevent their extraction and trading with them. The RMI goes back to a working group founded in 2008 by the Global enabling Sustainability Initiative and Responsible Business Alliance for the sustainable extraction of raw materials. Since then, the number of metalworking and smelting companies that participate in the RMI has grown steadily.


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Yesterday afternoon, Rep. Darrell Issa, the founder of the Transparency Caucus, dedicated a committee hearing to smearing transparency as the enemy of democracy. President Obama is reportedly drafting an executive order that would require businesses seeking government contracts to disclose their political spending. Since Issa's patrons in Big Business would rather cloak their machinations in secrecy, Issa called a hearing to try to reframe a provision that would protect democracy as a threat to democracy. Shortly before the hearing, People For the American Way President Michael Keegan wrote a Huffington Post piece about this.
Listening to Issa and his fellow Republicans, you'd never know that last year's Citizens United decision undermined a century's work of reforming our campaign finance system. You'd never know that from the congressional midterm election immediately before Citizens United and the one immediately after, spending from groups that don't disclose their donors skyrocketed from one percent of total spending by outside groups to an incredible 47 percent. You'd never know that corporate giants were anonymously flooding the airwaves with campaign ads and drowning out the voices of everyone else.
At the hearing, Issa and his fellow Republicans repeatedly framed the executive order as injecting political considerations into federal contracting decisions. They ignored the fact that both current federal law and the proposed executive order prevent that from happening. They ignored the testimony of an OMB official who described the effective appeals process bidders have whenever they suspect they were turned down for a contract for political reasons. They ignored the fact that, as Ranking Member Elijah Cummings pointed out, if the proposed disclosure requirements inject political considerations into procurement decisions, then so do existing disclosure requirements.
Issa and his allies kept repeating that the only reason to require disclosure would be to incorporate politics into contracting decisions. The OMB official pointed out other examples where contractors submit information that cannot be used by procurement officials but which the American public has a vital interest in – such as lobbying disclosures.
Disclosure of political spending is simply not a threat to political speech, as much as Issa and his wealthy patrons want to claim otherwise. In fact, eight of the nine Justices in Citizens United voted to uphold disclosure requirements and agreed that the federal government has an important interest in providing Americans information about the sources of election-related spending. It's not easy to get eight Justices to agree on much of anything these days, so that says a lot about just how far beyond the mainstream Issa and his corporate backers have gone.


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Keyword Density Checker
Keyword Density Analyzer is helpful for serving webmasters and SEOs reach their best possible keyword density for a set of key conditions. Keyword Density Checker will crawl the set URL, extract text as a search engine would and examine the density of the keywords. Keyword frequency checker will investigate your chosen URL and return a table of keyword density. In an attempt to mimic the meaning of search engine spiders, it will clean out common stop words (since these will probably be ignored by search engines).
Note, results with www. and without www. can significantly differ.
Keyword Density (keyword frequency) is the percentage of occurrence of your keywords to the text in the rest of your web page.
It is essential for your main keywords to have the proper keyword density to rank well in Search Engines.
Keyword density is significant because search engines use this information to group a site's theme, and to determine which terms the site is related to.
The ideal keyword density will help get higher search engine positions. Keyword frequency needs to be balanced properly (too low and you will not get the optimal advantage, too high and your page might get flagged for keyword spamming).
Keyword Cloud is a visual representation of keywords used on a website.
Keywords having higher density are presented in larger fonts.
The keyword cloud is also known as tag cloud. These tags are used on the web site and generally displayed in alphabetic order. It is based on the way that a search spider views the page. It is better to use keywords on the beginning of the webpage.
And then the keywords list should be used throughout the website to raise your rankings.
Idyllically your most important keywords should appear in larger fonts at the start of the keyword cloud.


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Update to Windows Update, WSUS Coming This Week
As part of the phased mitigation strategy we outlined on the MSRC blog, an update was released with Security Advisory 2718704 that prevents unauthorized certificates from being used to attack Windows systems. In an effort to provide additional protection for customers, the next action in our mitigation strategy is to further harden Windows Update as a defense-in-depth precaution. Now that we have seen broad adoption of Security Advisory 2718704, our deployment of the security hardening update to Windows Update and Windows Server Update Services (WSUS) infrastructures will begin to roll out over the next few days.
Our hardening introduces two defense-in-depth changes. First, we have further hardened the Windows Update infrastructure so that the Windows Update client will only trust files signed by a new certificate that is used solely to protect updates to the Windows Update client. Second, we are strengthening the communication channel used by Windows Update in a similar way. Details on the changes to the Windows Update client can be found at KB 949104. WSUS customers will also receive an update; more details can be found at KB 2720211.
As with past updates, this update will not change your current Windows Update or Automatic Updates settings. Anytime Windows Update (or Automatic Updates) is turned on, either set to automatically install updates or notify to install updates, Windows Update will take care of updating itself.
It's important to keep your PC up to date with the latest updates to keep your PC running smoothly and safely.
WU/WSUS Team


text:
♥ Good morning every one ♥
Welcome today to look into my blog to see what I made with a Magnolia stamp to this SUPER SPECIAL challenge as part of DREAMY Team over at MARVELOUS MAGNOLIA CHALLENGE BLOG.
HAPPY 1st BIRTHDAY MARVELOUS MAGNOLIA
......and more are coming on board week 2!!!
From Marvelous Magnolia DT would like to welcome
you to the start of our 1st year
BIRTHDAY BASH!!!......with a new romantic shabby chick look!
We have an
amazing line up of sponsors for this birthday bash, and here is the list.....
Tildas Town Magnolia-Licious DIY
Boutique Supply The Ribbon Girl Crimson Cloud Go
Kreate Hobby
Cutz Stamp and Create Live & Love Crafts Marker Pop Craftie-Charlie Scrapbooking Boutique......and more are coming on board week 2!!!
The sponsor
prizes will be available to Marvelous Magnolia followers only and each day of
the 2 week birthday bash we will be featuring a different GDT member... to be in
the draw to win the prize, you must comment on the challenge blog post and you
must also comment on the personal blog of our GDT member for that day.
If you
comment on each day of the bash, you would be in the draw for each of the
All DT members
we are giving our creation for this bash away to one lucky winner on our personal
blogs!! To win these projects we have created with much love to give, you must
also be a Marvelous Magnolia follower as our blog follower and comment on all
the DT members personal blogs!
Each DT member will randomly select one winning
commentor and mail our creation!
Now onto
the challenge for this week:
I made a wall hanger 2014 calendar to offer as a candy for one lucky winner in our blog hop.
Papers from Maja design Vintage and Summer collection. The big white wooden tree chipboard is from C TOP "Bois ciselé.
The close
up of the image; is colored with Copic sketch markers and stamped in heavy
White Canson Bristol cardstock (365 gm) stamped with MEMENTO "tuxedo black" ink. I cutted some pieces from flower shaped bead string to decorate Tiffany´s cutted frame.Heart Flatback and Small Beaded Berries Ivory from The Ribbon Gilrs. Satin ribbon from Modial Tissues.
Flowers Pearl Bead String, Beaded Ivory Gypsophalia and Ivory Flower Shape Flatback from The Ribbon Girls.
Coloring was done using these Copics:
You might
want to hop over to Marvelous Magnolia Challenge for more DT inspirations and
do check out the stunners from the rest of the team for this challenge.....
.....and be sure
to stop at every blog and leave a comment to be in the draw for the creations
we are giving away!!!
There are a lot of great prizes for winners in the
You have this time 2 full weeks to create and submit your entries !!!
Leave me one comment if you want (your
comments are always appreciated) and follow my blog if you like my work (up is
the link, and is FREE). Thanks a lot.
I would
like to enter this project in the following challenges:
Thanks to
the above blogs for lettin´ me play along.
Thanks for coming by everyone; in the meantime have a wonderful week.


text:
Greetings, FreeNAS fanatics!
Yes, it's our first point release to a point release! We are not particularly thrilled that we had to do one, but there were some Samba (CIFS) and jail related bugs (including a panic!) that definitely made it necessary; we've done little else for the last 2 weeks but tracking them down and stomping on them! Our thanks also go out to the Samba team (you know who you are) who helped us to identify and fix some of the key issues, as well as to FreeNAS developer John Hixson, who worked extra hard on diagnosing and fixing the CIFS issues!
The list of bugs fixed in 188.8.131.52 can be found here.
Should you encounter any other bugs in this release, or wish to submit enhancement requests, please visit http://bugs.freenas.org and by all means file a bug! We use the bug tracking system quite religiously and screen bugs on a daily basis, so filing a bug report is the best way of making sure that any issues do not get lost! Since no release engineering process is ever truly finished, we are already planning for 9.2.2 and will aim to fix any "fit and finish" bugs we deem appropriate for the next software update.
We also have the FreeNAS forums for general discussion and encourage everyone to use them. Finally, the FreeNAS developers also hang out in the #freenas IRC channel on FreeNode in their copious spare time should you wish to discuss things more in real-time.
The Errata List remains for 220.127.116.11, though we're happy to say that we squashed 3 out of the 4 issues that were on it for 9.2.1. The last remaining issue is 32-bit only, and only affects Time Machine backups.
Again, if you didn't follow the link in the first paragraph, the bits are in http://download.freenas.org/220.127.116.11/RELEASE/
The FreeNAS Engineering Team
Release Notes for FreeNAS 220.127.116.11-RELEASE
- Samba (SMB/CIFS support) upgraded to version 4.1.4, with select key fixes cherry-picked from 4.1.5. This version adds support for SMB3, the ability for FreeNAS to be a Windows Domain Controller, and advanced features like server-side copy support in Windows 2012 and later, along with multiple years worth of improvements over the version of Samba that shipped in 9.2.0. Samba4 also enables SMB protocol version 3. Previous versions of FreeNAS limited samba to SMB2 because of random crashes that would occur using SMB3. We also fixed a number of Samba issues specific to FreeNAS in 22.214.171.124 – see the fixed bug list for details.
- A system dataset (.system) is now created in a user-configurable pool, the default being the first pool found. This can be changed in System->Settings->Advanced, the .system dataset being created as needed. This dataset becamse necessary for storing persistent Samba permissions, and is also being leveraged for other purposes, like collecting core files (which otherwise might overflow the limited system partition space) and storing system log files. It will be used for additional purposes as FreeNAS evolves.
- A panic that occurred with VIMAGE jails has been fixed.
- A bad bug with jail templates that caused them to be gratuitously downloaded has been fixed. See the fixed bugs query above for details.
Release Notes for FreeNAS 9.2.1-RELEASE (since 184.108.40.206 is just a bug fix release for 9.2.1):
- Added the LSI 12G SAS driver as a module to the build. This can be enabled by adding a tunable for mpslsi3_load with a value of YES. This driver is still under development and not yet committed to FreeBSD. It is provided for beta testing only. For production use please consider using a 6G SAS adapter, such as the LSI 9207.
- Fixed a bug with netatalk that prevented share browsing from working in the finder on OSX. Also enabled options for fuller-fidelity AFP copies with Mac OS ACLs (ACEs) now stored as ZFS ACLs. Remove the non functional share password field from AFP shares.
- Switched from Avahi to mDNSResponder for Zeroconf network configuration, improving the Mac share browsing experience.
- Added additional Web API functionality for manipulating ZFS snapshots.
- Added IPMI network configuration support for machines with that capability (enabled by setting ipmi_load tunable to YES).
- Brought back the FreeNAS 8.x volume manager as a "Manual Setup" option. This volume manager allows manual vdev building and offers no seat belts. Unless you know exactly what you are doing and why you are doing it, using the standard volume manager is highly recommended by the development team!
- Made some changes to reporting graphs that segregates reports by type, one type per tab. Add graphs that show individual disk activity.
- Fixed a bug that prevented building an encrypted volume using multipath devices.
- Update django (used by the WebUI) to 1.6 and dojo to 1.9.2
- Add the following ZFS features: enabled_txg hole_birth, extensible_dataset, bookmarks
- Add trafshow to the image. This utility gives a CLI view of connections and usage to the FreeNAS box.
- Fix kernel module load for fuse. This is needed for importing NTFS volumes.
- Add the ability to use a keytab for AD joins. This eliminates the need to use the AD Administrator account to join FreeNAS to AD, closing a long standing issue of needing the AD Admin password in the FreeNAS configuration database.
- Updated the LSI 6 Gbps HBA driver (mps) to version 16. Please update the firmware of any mps HBAs to phase 16.


text:
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text:
This article is more than 1 year old
Ballmer begs partners to love Microsoft clouds
Promises 'full vim and vigor'
Steve Ballmer wants to rally business partners around Microsoft's flagship internet and mobile initiatives, but in the process, he reveals just how far Microsoft has to go and how much the company relies on decision-makers outside of its control.
Opening Microsoft's annual Worldwide Partner Conference in Los Angeles on Monday, Ballmer enthused about the growing market share of Microsoft's Bing search engine, about Boeing and American Airlines using Windows Azure, and about Nokia embracing Windows Phone.
Ballmer insisted that Microsoft has also stitched together a "much more" coherent and complete public- and private-cloud strategy during the last year, one that combines existing enterprise products such as System Center, Visual Studio, and Active Directory, and lets you take private apps to the public Azure cloud.
VMware, Oracle, Google, and Amazon have merit, he admitted, but he says they're unique, specific, and limited. "We think you want to mix and match between the public and private environments," Ballmer told his conference audience. "We are the only company out there that's investing in on-premises and on the cloud. The amount you learn from working [in] both environments to work in the other is dramatic."
58% of companies now in the heavens
Before Ballmer spoke Monday, Microsoft quoted a partner survey that said 58 per cent of companies are working with cloud, but the same survey characterized that work as "more opportunistic than core" to their business.
In the midst of Monday's round of thank yous to partners selling, customizing, and integrating Microsoft's software, Ballmer revealed how much his company is dependant for success upon a group of businesses who are not exactly rushing to embrace the cloud, mobile, and search strategies upon which he has staked Microsoft's future.
Rather, those businesses continue to sell just the offerings for which Microsoft has become best known: Windows and Office.
Celebrating continued strong sales of Office, Ballmer noted: "If you said to me 10 years ago when we were cooking with Office in the early 2000s [that] we'd still be doing double digits [growth] 10 years later, I have to admit I might be dubious. Yet through the incredible work of this community and the R&D teams, that's exactly what we are doing."
Microsoft's chief executive claimed "outstanding" double-digit growth in Office and Windows Server, with more than 100 million licenses of Office 2010 shipped in the last 12 months, and 76 per cent market share for Windows Server, according to IDC.
Microsoft will announce annual results for the year on July 21. Ballmer let slip at a recent event that Microsoft will make almost $70bn in revenue and more than $20bn in profit.
Interwebs lag
But to a certain extent, partners are staying away from Bing, Ballmer's multi-billion-dollar search and ads reboot that was designed to unseat Google. "Bing is the Microsoft product and service our partners expend the least amount of time with right now," Ballmer admitted.
This will change, he suggested, hinting at some kind of "opening up" of the Bing search infrastructure. "We are thinking about the dynamics and architecture that will let us open Bing up over the next few years to become more of a platform."
Does this mean taking Bing or parts of Bing open source, or just publishing more of the APIs to outsiders? He didn't say.
For all of Microsoft's efforts, Bing has 14.1 per cent market share in the US. Microsoft likes to play college statistician by pointing out that this is a whopping 30 per cent growth rate.
"Sometimes I get asked: 'Isn't this market all done?' That is exactly the wrong thinking," Ballmer said.
"The internet is changing [more] today than at anytime in history, moving from an internet based around HTML documents to an internet based around social graphs and geo information, where you want to access information not just from keyboard and fixed device but using voice and other techniques."
Talking of Windows Phone, Ballmer admitted that Microsoft has "a lot of work to do to break though," and joked: "In a year we've gone from very small to very small. But it's been a heck of year and you are going to see lots of programs in that market as we move forward. Nokia and people in the phone business believe in us," he insisted.
Ballmer also tackled his $8.5bn purchase of Skype, seen as undercutting the Lync communications server – something partners have been jumping all over to sell as part of an email and collaboration stack. Microsoft claims 70 per cent of the Fortune 500 now use Lync.
"I've been asked by partners whether [the Skype acquisition] means you are not as serous or enthusiastic about Lync. Quite the contrary," Ballmer said.
"One of the great motivations is to enable the enterprise to have all the control it wants of communication and collaboration though Active Directory and Lync, yet connect people in the enterprise to consumers and trading partners around the world. Lync and Skype is a strategy that will allow the consumerization of IT to proceed with full vim and vigor."
$580bn for Ballmer pals
To convince partners that they should swing behind their cloud, Bing, and mobile strategies, Microsoft served up some numbers to prove that betting on Redmond results in partner profits: $8 for each $1 earned by Microsoft, producing $580bn revenue in the partner ecosystem.
When beginning his Monday keynote, Ballmer recalled that last years' conference was "scary" because Microsoft had gone "all in" on the cloud, seeing as how the cloud is disruptive to technology and existing business models, factors that mean change for Microsoft and for partners.
"It was scary because I said we are all in on the cloud and we want partners to come with us. It is where things are going and we need you to decide whether you are going with us," Ballmer said.
Closing his talk an hour later, the bullish CEO made it clear who's really in charge. "At the end of the day, we are in with you 100 per cent. As you go so goes Microsoft." ®


text: The Pentagon says it's "ready to go" if it gets orders to carry out a military strike in response to Syria's suspected use of chemical weapons against its own people. Most people know Syria's civil war has been raging for more than two years. But the situation is so complicated that it's hard for even the biggest news junkie to keep track. Now that Washington is seriously thinking about ordering limited missile strikes in one of the most volatile regions of the world, it's a good time to retrace events and remember how we got here. Here's a quick-read cheat sheet about the Syrian civil war. It's not intended to be an all-encompassing encyclopedia, but it will bring you up to date on what's really important about a scary situation in an already volatile part of the world. Who wants what after chemical weapons horror? 1. What did Syria look like before the conflict? Even before the uprising in Syria, things weren't peaceful there. Discontent simmered for decades. In 1982, President Hafez al-Assad clamped down on a Muslim Brotherhood uprising. In one attack, his iron fist left tens of thousands dead. When Hafez al-Assad died in 2000, his son Bashar al-Assad took over the presidency. He promised to build a more modern and democratic nation. But reforms didn't come fast enough for activists, who called for change and slammed Syria's government as an "authoritarian, totalitarian and cliquish regime." Sectarian and ethnic unrest shook Syria over the past decade, too. A Druze uprising flared in 2000, and a Kurdish rebellion erupted in 2004. 2. How did the civil war begin? It all started in February 2011 in the city of Daraa, when authorities arrested 15 schoolchildren for painting anti-government graffiti on the walls of a school. The children didn't mince words with the message they painted: "The people want to topple the regime." Word spread that the children were allegedly mistreated while in custody. Outrage over their arrest grew, fueling protests. Security forces opened fire, activists say, killing at least four protesters. These four, activists say, were the first deaths in Syria's civil war. Within days, according to Human Rights Watch, protests grew into massive rallies made up of thousands. Their rallying cry: "Daraa!" the city whose children sparked a national movement. Iran: U.S. military action in Syria would spark 'disaster' 3. How did the unrest turn into a call for an end to al-Assad's rule? It didn't take long for al-Assad to criticize protesters in Daraa. In a March 2011 speech before lawmakers, he said "conspirators" started out there and wanted to spread unrest. His dismissive remarks, and the way lawmakers applauded afterward, only further fueled protests. "That speech had a catastrophic impact," the International Crisis Group's Peter Harling said last year. "People who wanted to support the regime at the time were shocked." Two days later, weekly anti-government protests began across Syria. Calls for reforms soon escalated into calls for the removal of the entire al-Assad regime. Now, armed rebels have vowed to accept nothing less than al-Assad's ouster, while the Syrian government has labeled them terrorists and vowed not to back down. The United Nations estimates that the fighting has claimed more than 100,000 lives. 4. OK, but that all started more than two years ago. Why do some people think the United States needs to take action now? Talking about Syria last year, President Barack Obama said "a red line for us is, we start seeing a whole bunch of chemical weapons moving around or being utilized." The implication was clear. If Syria uses chemical weapons in the civil war, the United States will have to do something. Now, the White House says it looks like Syria has used chemical weapons against its own people. So here we are. What will Obama do in response? Whatever it is, it's time to sit up and take notice, because this news story is moving to another level. What justifies intervening if Syria uses chemical weapons? 5. What makes chemical weapons a game changer? Some argue that conventional weapons like guns or bombs also have a massive human toll. They say chemical weapons shouldn't be a turning point for the world to act. But the White House maintains that they're a game-changer. "The use of chemical weapons is contrary to the standards adopted by the vast majority of nations and international efforts since World War I to eliminate the use of such weapons. … The use of these weapons on a mass scale and a threat of proliferation is a threat to our national interests and a concern to the entire world," White House spokesman Jay Carney said this week. 6. Why didn't the United States just send a bunch of weapons to the opposition when it had the chance? In June, the United States said it would send the rebels small arms, ammunition and potentially anti-tank weapons. But that was long after the unrest started. Why the delay? Some argue that sending weapons to a region of the world that also contains Islamic extremists is risky business. Many of the rebel fighters are militants with pro-al Qaeda sympathies, the same stripe of militants America has battled in Iraq and Afghanistan. The Syria rebels have promised U.S. and European officials that any military weaponry they get won't end up in extremists' hands. But that hasn't quelled criticism from some quarters that arming the rebels is a dangerous risk. Russian President Vladimir Putin has slammed the decision to arm the opposition. At an economic forum in June, he cautioned, "Where will those weapons end up?" 7. What's the deal with Russia? Why are they criticizing the U.S.? Putin has made it clear that Russia and the United States don't see eye to eye when it comes to Syria. Russia and Syria are longtime allies. For one, just take a look at their weapons deals. Between 2007 and 2010, Russian firms selling weapons to Syria made almost $5 billion. It would be costly for Russia to end that relationship, analyst Peter Fragiskatos said this year "Russia's leadership still sees much to lose economically and strategically from cutting Syria loose," Fragiskatos wrote. "Russia sees Syria as another test case for the West's appetite for intervention and views the danger of U.S. involvement as a direct threat to its own interests." There are other reasons to suspect that Russia will keep supporting Syria. Russia's only naval base in the Mediterranean is on the Syrian coast, and Putin is still upset about NATO's bombing in Libya two years ago that removed Russian ally Moammar Gadhafi from power. 'Red line' debate: Chemical weapons worse than attacks? 8. What's religion got to do with it? The al-Assad family is Alawite, a Shiite Muslim offshoot that's one of the minorities in a country that is nearly three-quarters Sunni. Al-Assad has filled key positions in his government with extended family members, and many of his supporters are Alawites and other minorities who fear what might happen if the Sunnis were to gain power. Because the Syrian regime is Alawite and the majority of the country is Sunni, there are concerns that Syria could spiral into even more violence. 9. What's the worst that could happen? In a worst-case scenario, experts say, the fighting could spill over and make trouble for Syria's neighbors, threatening stability in a part of the world that's already known to be volatile. Surrounding Syria are Lebanon, Iraq and Jordan, Israel and Turkey. The violence has been prompting war refugees to seek safety in some of these nations. In Turkey, there are ethnic tensions involving Kurds who live along its southern border with Syria. All of these countries have a lot of religious, cultural and historical issues between them that add countless layers of complexity to the crisis. And when an entire region of the world loses stability, that worries the international community as a whole.